Unemployment

If you lost your job or had your hours reduced, and meet eligibility requirements, you may be eligible to receive Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits from California’s Employment Development Department (EDD). Learn what type of benefits you qualify for and how to apply for them.

California Eviction Moratorium

California issued a statewide moratorium on residential evictions for renters who cannot pay their rent because of COVID-19 related economic hardships. The moratorium went into effect on March 27 and is valid through May 31, 2020.​

If COVID-19 has impacted your ability to pay all or part of your rent, you should:

Explain your financial situation to your landlord and relay how much you are able to pay

Save all financial documents

Pay as much of your rent as you can

If your landlord is attempting to evict you for not paying rent and you took all of the above steps, contact a local legal aid provider.

Relief from financial institutions

The State of California is working to soften the financial impact of COVID-19 on residents who are struggling to pay their mortgage and bills. Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, US Bank, Wells Fargo, and nearly 200 state-chartered banks, credit unions, and servicers have committed to providing relief for consumers and homeowners in California.

Under the Governor’s proposal, Californians who are struggling with the COVID-19 crisis may be eligible for the following relief after contacting their financial institution:

90-day grace period for all mortgage payments

If you are impacted by COVID-19, these financial institutions will offer mortgage-payment forbearances of up to 90 days, which allow you to reduce or delay your monthly mortgage payment. In addition, they will:

Give you a streamlined process for requesting forbearance for COVID-19-related reasons, supported with available documentation;

Confirm approval of and terms of forbearance program; and

Provide you the opportunity to extend your forbearance agreement if you continue to experience hardship due to COVID-19.

Relief from fees and charges for 90 days

For at least 90 days, financial institutionswill waive or refund mortgage-related late fees and other fees including early CD withdrawals.

No new foreclosures for 60 days

No credit score changes for accessing relief

If you are taking advantage of this COVID-19-related relief, late or missed payments will not be shared with credit reporting agencies.

Questions and answers on financial relief

You should contact and work directly with your mortgage servicer to learn about and apply for available relief. Please note that financial institutions and their servicers are experiencing high volumes of inquiries.

The terms of a forbearance will be agreed to between you and your mortgage service. Financial institutions will confirm approval of and terms of the forbearance program.

Financial institutions will not report derogatory information (e.g., late payments) to credit reporting agencies but may report a forbearance, which typically does not alone negatively affect a credit score.

It is still unclear how severe or how long the COVID-19 impacts will be. Financial institutions have committed to necessary relief and will be assessing the ongoing conditions and necessity of continuing relief.

At this time, JP Morgan Chase, US Bank, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, and nearly 200 state-chartered banks, credit unions are supporting these commitments. The state will welcome any other institution that would like to meet the moment and provide much-needed financial relief to Californians.

These measures go into effect as of March 25, 2020.

The relief is currently only available for residential mortgages.

You can file a complaint with the Department of Business Oversight through the complaint form on the DBO website (https://dbo.ca.gov/file-a-complaint/) or by contacting the DBO Consumer Services Office at (866) 275-2677 or (916) 327-7585 via email at Ask.DBO@dbo.ca.gov.

Questions and answers for workers

It depends what your job is. Workers in essential sectors are allowed to work during the Stay Home Order. And anyone is allowed to work from their home that has arranged to do so with their employer.

For information on businesses and industry sectors that are allowed to operate in Stage 2 of reopening, visit statewide industry guidance.

Some businesses and industry sectors may be open in counties that have received state approval to move further in Stage 2 of reopening, but are not yet permitted to reopen statewide. Visit county variance to learn more.